Coffee cooling structure



COFFEE COOLING STRUCTURE 7 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed 001.. 13, 1958 INVENTORS LEON .J- NOWAK JR. DANIEL KERWIN PARKER & CARTER AT TO R NEYS y 1963 L. J. NOWAK, JR., ETAL 3,090,132

COFFEE COOLING STRUCTURE Filed Oct. 15, 1958 TSheets-Sheet 2 0&8 L Q m m I\ O m I m N I I m o N r") I E i' I I \\II I I II I I 2 I| I II I II I II I II I I I II I II I '0 I| 4 m -n I I I I 4 9 LQ I.

INVENTORS LEON J. NOWAK JR BY DANIEL KERWIN PARKER S CARTER ATTORNEYS May 21, 1963 J. NOWAK, JR., ETAL 3,090,132

COFFEE COOLING STRUCTURE Filed Oct. 15, 1958 v Sheets-Sheet 3 INVENTORS LEON .J NOWAK 'JR.

' W N BY DANKEL KER I PARKER & CARTER ATTORNEYS y 1963 L. J. NOWAK, JR., ETAL 3,090,132

COFFEE COOLING STRUCTURE 7 Sheets-Sheet 4 Filed Oct. 15, 1958 rlllllllll INVENTORS LEON J. NOWAK JR.

N] L KERWIN BY DA E PARKER 3 CARTER ATTORNEYS May 21, 1963 L. J. NOWAK, JR, ETAL COFFEE COOLING STRUCTURE Filed Oct. 13, 1958 N! L K RWlN BY DA E E PARKER 2, CARTER ATTORNEYS May 21, 1963 L. J. NOWAK, JR, ETAL 3,090,132

CQFFEE COOLING STRUCTURE 7 Sheets-Sheet 6 Filed Oct. 15, 1958 'INVENTORS J. NOWAK JR KERWIN LEON DANIEL PARKER 43 CARTER ATTO RNEYS y 1963 L J. NOWAK. JR., ETAL 3,090,132

COFFEE COOLING STRUCTURE Filed 061' 1a, 1958 7 SheetsSheet 7 INVENTORS LEON J. NOWAK JR.

DANIEL KERWIN PARKER 8 CARTER ATTORNEYS United States Patent 3,090,132 COFFEE CGULING STRUCT Leon J. N owak, In, Park Ridge, and Daniel Kerwin, Lombard, Ill., assignors, by mesne assignments, to B. G. Gump (30., a corporation of Hlinois Filed Oct. 13, 1958, Ser. No. 766,823 24- Claims. (Cl. 34-4174) This invention is directed to a new and improved structure for cooling granular material, such as cofiee.

One purpose of the present invention is the creation of a cooling structure which will rapidly lower the temperature of granular material from a temperature of several hundred degrees to room temperature.

Another purpose of the present invention is a cooling structure for granular material which operates efficiently on either relatively large or relatively small batches of granular material.

Another purpose of the present invention is the provision of improved material handling means in a granular material cooling structure.

Other purposes will become manifest from a reading of the ensuing specification and claims.

Referring generally now to the drawings:

FIGURE 1 is a side elevation of the present invention with parts omitted for clarity;

FIGURE 2 is a view similar to FIGURE 1, but with parts in section;

FIGURE 3 is a sectional view taken substantially along the section line 33 of FIGURE 1;

FIGURE 4 is an enlarged view of certain elements shown in FIGURE 1;

FIGURE 5 is a sectional view taken along the section line 5-5 of FIGURE 2;

FIGURE 6 is a sectional view taken along the section line 66 of FIGURE 5 with parts omitted for clarity;

FIGURE 7 is a sectional view taken along the section line 7-7 of FIGURE 1;

FIGURE 8 is a schematic view of a control circuit utilized in the invention;

FIGURE 9 is a side elevation of a modification of the invention;

FIGURE 10 is a sectional view taken along the section line 1tl-1tl of FIGURE 9;

FIGURE 11 is a sectional view of an automatic power actuated system for the dampers of the cooler viewed from the right of FIGURE 3;

FIGURE 11a is a diagrammatic illustration of a variant form of sensing devices;

FIGURE 12 is a diagrammatic view of a control circuit used with the system of FIGURE 11; and

FIGURE 13 is a partial view of the structure shown in FIGURE 11, taken on the line 1313, and viewed in the direction of the arrows.

Like elements are designated by like characters through out the specification and drawings.

Referring specifically now to the drawings and in the first instance to FIGURE 1, 1 represents any suitable base or frame casting which may be supported upon a floor. Upstanding air pervious walls 2, 3, 4 and 5, as seen best in FIGURE 3, extend vertically from the base 1 to define a pair of material receiving chambers 6 and 7, between the walls with an air space 8, between the chambers. The upper ends of the chambers 6 and 7 are open and in communication with a conveyor space 9. The upper end of the air space 8 is closed by a material guiding member 10.

A conveyor 11 which preferably takes the form of a screw conveyor is mounted in the conveyor space 9 in a manner such that the axis of the conveyor overlies the material guiding member 10. A housing 11a overlies 3 ,90,l32- Patented May 21, 1963 the conveyor and extends to the outer walls 2 and 5. As will be noted in FIGURES 1 and 2, the screw conveyor has its axis inclined to the horizontal. The angle of inclination is of the order of the angle of repose of granular material deposited in piles in the chambers 6 and 7, the slope of the conveyor axis approximating the slope of the tops of the piles of material in the cham bers. This inclination of the conveyor facilitates the even distribution of incoming material over the top of the piles in the chamber which of course aids in the exposure of the material to the cooling fluid. As will be noted in FIGURE 2, the material guiding member 10 is parallel to the conveyor axis. A motor 12 is mounted upon an upper portion of the housing, to rotate the conveyor and thereby move material upwardly from the lower portion of the conveyor to the upper portion thereof.

A material feeding hopper 13, preferably in the form of a chute pivoted to the conveyor housing, is adapted to deliver material to the conveyor. An inlet 15 is formed in the conveyor housing so that material deposited in the chute or hopper =13 may flow to the lower portion of the screw conveyor 11.

It should be noted that the chute 13 is comprised of upper and lower sections 13b and 13a. The two sections are each hinged to the conveyor housing on opposite sides of the inlet 15 as at 13c and 13a. A link 13:: pivotally interconnects the two sections so that when the chute is swung from the full line position of FIG- URE 1 to the dotted line position, the section 13b collapses within the section 13a.

The top wall of the section 13b, the bottom wall of section 13a and the side walls of the two sections define an enclosure for the material flowing from the receiving end of the chute thus minimizing the possibility of foreign matter dropping into the material.

As will be seen best in FIGURES 1 and 3, exterior walls W and W may be positioned outside of the air pervious walls 2 and 5 to define air inlet spaces A and A between these walls and the outer walls 2 and 5 of the chamber. The walls W and W may extend over an area coextensive with the area of the upstanding walls 2 and 5. Designated generally at B and B in FIGURE 3 are ducts which may, for example, lead to a header for outside air, or to some other suitable supply of cooling medium. The ducts are not shown in FIGURE 1 since they are not essential when room air is being utilized. In FIGURE 1, a portion of the exterior wall W is broken away in order to show the nature of the upstanding air pervious outer wall 2 of the chamber.

The upstanding walls 2, 3, 4 and 5 are each preferably formed from screen mesh which extends over an area generally defined by the guiding member 10, base 1, and a line extending from the upper portion of the conveyor to the base. Any suitable framework 16 may be used to support the screen mesh in the position illustrated. Each of the walls 2, 3, 4 and 5 may include two layers of screen mesh of different sizes, in which case the smaller size screen may form the inner wall surface of the chambers while the layer of larger mesh may form the outer wall surfaces of the chambers.

The chambers are closed at the upper portion thereof by the conveyor housing 11a, and by a plate 16a which extends generally at right angles to the conveyor axis and from the upper portion of the conveyor downwardly where it connects with an end Wall 16b. The end wall 16b for each chamber extends upwardly from the base at an angle with the vertical generally equal to the angle made by the conveyor axis with the vertical.

Thus the pervious side walls of the chamber and the chambers themselves have the shape of an irregular polygon.

An air outlet duct 17 is joined to the base. The duct 17 is in communication with the space 8 from the lowermost portion thereof as designated at 18 to an upper portion thereof as designated at 19. The duct 17 may lead to any suitable source of suction, such as a blower, for drawing air or gases or both from the space 8.

The air space 8 is divided into a plurality of vertically spaced air passageways as by means of the vertically spaced baflies 2t), 21, 22 and 23, which are joined to the side Walls 3 and 4. The baffies 20, 2'1, 22 and 23 are inclined to the vertical at an angle on the order of the angle of repose of material in the chambers. Thus, an uppermost passageway is created at 24, a lowermost passageway is created at 2-8, and intermediate passageways are created at 25, 26 and 27. Each passageway communicates with the chambers 6 and 7, through the pervious walls and with outlet duct 17.

A valve or damper means is positioned to close ofif each of the upper passageways to the duct 17. As shown, the valve or damper may take the form of butterfly valves 29, 30, 31 and 32, which are pivoted as at. 29a, 39a, 31a and 32a. As shown in FIGURE 4, a handle 32!) may be fixed to each valve to allow the operator to move the valve between an open and closed position. Similar handles are provided for each valve.

The bottom of the chambers 6 and 7 is defined by pivoted gates 33 and 34. A motor operated mechanism is provided to move the gates 33 and 34 from the closed position illustrated in FIGURE 3 to an open position where material in the chambers 6 and 7 will fall by gravity, into the space beneath the gates.

The motor operated mechanism is shown in detail in FIGURES 5 and 6. It is located beneath the lower end of the conveyor 11. It includes a suitable motor means, electric or otherwise, such as the motor 35 which is shown as driving a crank 36. A connecting rod 37 is pivotally connected to crank 36 at a location radially offset from the axis of rotation of crank 36. Rod 37 is also pivotally connected, as at 38 to a link 39. Link 39 is pivotally connected to crank arms at} and 41 on supporting hinge rods 42 and 43 for the gates 33 and 34. The linkage provides a full cycle of opening and closing movement of the gates 33 and 34 for each full revolution of crank 36.

The crank 36 preferably takes the form of a disk with diametrically spaced notches 44 and 45. The notches are also spaced from one another along the axis of the disk. The surface of the disk and notches actuate switches 46 and 47 which terminate operation of the motor after a predetermined amount of crank travel. A mounting bracket for switches 46 and 47 is indicated in phantom in FIGURE 6. It has been omitted from FIGURE 5 for clarity. The notches 44 and 45 are arranged to be contacted by switch actuating rollers 46a and 47a respectively when the rod 37 is at the top dead center and bottom dead center positions. As will be seen in FIGURE 8, each of the switches 46 and 47, one of which is always closed, is in one of the main lines leading to the motor 35. Manually actuated switches '48 and 49, located at any convenient position such as at the control panel, are in parallel with the switches 46 and 47. Thus, after a predetermined amount of travel of the cam 36, as when the gates 33, 34 have moved to the fully open position, the switch 46 will move to the open position by reason of its actuating roller 46a dropping into the notch 44. This terminates energization of the motor 35 and movement of the gates stop. To move the gates back to the closed position, the operator simply closes the open switch 48, thus bypassing the switch 46 and energizing the motor. The motor 35 then rotates the crank 36, and since rod 37 then moves in the opposite direction, the gates 33 and 34 will move in the closing direction until the other switch roller 47a be associated with the switches 48 and 46 and an indicator light 51 may be associated with the switches 47 and 49. The lights 59 and 51 are lighted when their associated switches 4-6 and 47, respectively, are closed, to indicate whether the gates are open or closed. Thus, if the gates are closed, switch as is closed and the indicator light 50 is energized. Light 51 is energized when switch 47 is closed and the gates are open. One or both of lights 50 and 51 are always lighted. When switch 47 is closed and switch 46 open, as shown in FIGURE 8, the indicator light 51 is lighted. The motor 35 will not be energized however until switch 48 is closed.

A modification of the invention is shown in FIGURES 9 and 10. In FIGURES 9 and '10 the assembly is essentially identical to the assembly illustrated in FIGURES 1 through 8 with the exception that a positive conveyor discharge is utilized in FIGURES 9 and 10 whereas a gravitational discharge is employed in FIGURES 1-8. It will be noted, also, that in FIGURES 9 and 10 the width of the drying chamber or air space 8a is substantially less, in relation to the adjacent air chambers, than is the case in the structure of FIGURES 3 and 7. It will be understood, of course, that there is considerable latitude in the proportioning of the parts and in the relative dimensions of the various chambers. In this form of the invention plates 52 and 53 define the bottom of the material receiving chambers 54 and 55 in place of the gates 34 and 33 of FIGURES 1-8.

The base casting 56 terminates at the lower portion of the upwardly inclined wall 57 of the material receiving chambers.

Spiral conveyors 58 and 59 are positioned for rotation in the bottoms of the material receiving chambers 54 and 55. The conveyors may be mounted on rods 60 and 61 which are journalled in the frame and driven by motors 62. The conveyors extend through openings in the inclined wall 57 and over a discharge Zone designated at 63. It should be understood that any suitable conveyor means (not shown) may be positioned beneath conveyors '53 and 59 to convey such material to a further processing area.

FIGURES I l and 1?. illustrate an automatic control system for the dampers in the cooler. In FIGURE 11 valves or dampers 129, 130, 131 and 132 are shown. The structure illustrated in FIGURE 11 has been reversed, left and right, from the position of FIGURE 1, for example, for purposes of description. It should be understood that these dampers or valves are associated with the spaces or passageways in the upper portion of the air outlet space as are the dampers 29, 30, 31 and 32 in FIGURES 1 through 10. The valves are pivoted as at 129a, 130a, 131a and 132a so as to be movable between open and closed positions. In FIGURE 11 the valve 130 is shown in the open position as well as the valve 129, whereas the valves 13-1 and 132 are illustrated in the closed position. Valves 131 and 132 he in the same plane as the upper front wall of the structure, and ac cordingly are co-extensive with said upper front wall when viewed from a side elevation as in FIGURE l l. Their relationship to valves 129 and 130 can be seen in other figures, particularly FIGURE 13. When the two lower valves 129 and 139 are open while the upper valves 131 and 132 are closed, air may be exhausted through the passageways associated with the valves 129 and 130 while the passageways associated with the valves 131 and 132 become substantially dead air spaces.

Electrical actuating mechanisms are employed to open and close the valves in direct relation to the level of material in the cooling chambers. In the form of the invention illustrated, a separate mechanism 133, 134, 135 and 136 is associated with each of the valves 129, 139, 131 and 132, respectively. Each of these mechanisms are identical and for this reason only the mechanism associated with the valve 13!? will be described in detail. Each of the mechanisms 133, 134, 135 and 136 include actuating solenoids 137, 138, 139 and 140, respectively, and thermally responsive switches 141, 142,. 143 and 144, re-

spectively. The plungers of solenoids 137, 138, 139, and 140 are shown in a de-energized condition in FIGURE 12. In FIGURE 11, the plungers of solenoids 137, 138 are shown in an energized condition, and the plungers of solenoids 139, 140 in a de-energized condition.

Considering one actuating mechanism 134 as typical, it will be seen that the plunger 145 of the solenoid 138 is attached to a flexible member 146 which in turn is wound about and attached, as at 146a, to a hub 147 for the valve 131). A thremally responsive element '148 is associated with the switch 142 and is mounted so as to project into the passageway associated with the valve 130. Thus the element 148 is subjected to the temperature in this passageway. A weight149 is mounted for movement with the hub 147 which supports the valve 130 and is adapted to bias the valve 130 to the closed position.

In FIGURE 11a we illustrate a variant sensing means in which a suitable motor and blades are employed to sense physical-1y the presence of the material to be cooled. We illustrate, for example, the driven shaft 148a which carries a spinner 14812. It will be understood that when the space is empty the shaft and spinner rotate freely due to motor 143c. Any suitable means may be employed for using the interruption of this rotation to actuate suitable switches, solenoids, or the like, such as are shown in FIGURES 1'1 and 12 and described herein. A suitable make and break circuit, not herein shown, may be included.

The arrangement is such that when the heat in the area adjacent to the element 148 reaches a predetermined degree, which may, for example, be a certain amount less than the temperature of the material deposited in the chambers, the thermal switch 142 closes and closes a circuit to the solenoid 138, thus energizing the solenoid and retracting the plunger 145. This pulls the cable 146 downwardly and rotates the supporting hub for the valve 131) in a clockwise direction as viewed in FIGURE 11 and opens the valve. When the temperature adjacent the element 148 has dropped a suflicient amount, the thermal switch 142 opens and thus de-energizes the solenoid 138. The weight 149 then moves the valve .130 to the closed position.

The solenoids 137, 138, 139 and 140 may be arranged in parallel across circuit lines so that they are each individually operated in response to the temperature adjacent to the passageway associated with the particular solenoid. Then when the granular material adjacent to the passageway has been cooled to a sufficient extent, the valve associated with that passageway will be closed so that no air flows through the passageway. It should be kept in mind that with reference, for example, to FIGURE 3, the material to be cooled is located between the pervious walls 2 and 3, on the one hand, and between the pervious walls 4 and 5, on the other hand. The heat responsive elements 148 of FIGURE 1 1, or the mechanical counterparts 148a and 1481) of FIGURE 11a, are located in the spaces between the pervious walls 2 and 3, or 4 and 5, and are therefore subjected to contact with the material being cooled. If the level of the granular material is such as to approach the height of the passageways associated with the valves 129 and 130, only these two valves will open and the remaining upper valve will be closed. Thus the system is automatically responsive to the level of material in the chambers for varying the height of the air outlet space in consonance with the height of such material.

FIGURE 12 illustrates an automatic control circuit that may be utilized with the electrical actuating mechanisms of FIGURE 1 1. In FIGURE 12 the solenoids 1 37, 138, 139 and 140 are shown as disposed in parallel across power lines L1 and L2. The circuit to the solenoid 137 includes the thermally responsive switch 141 and a holding relay 151 which is adapted to close a switch 151a when the thermally responsive switch 141 is closed. The circuit to the solenoid '138 similarly includes its associated thermally responsive switch 142, a holding relay 152 which is adapted to close a switch 152a when the switch 142 has been closed. The circuit for the solenoids 139 and 140 similarly include the thermally responsive switches 143 and 144, respectively, holding relays 153 and 1154 and switches 153a and 154a which are closed when their associated relays are energized. The switches 151a, 152a, 153a and 154:: establish hold-ing circuits for the solenoids 137, 138, 139 and 140, respectively, when the associated thermally responsive switches are actuated.

The circuit for each of the solenoids is interlocked with the circuit for the solenoid of the actuating mechanism for the passageway next below so that once the particular solenoid has been energized and it has opened its associated valve, it will not close until the actuating mechanism for the valve for the passageway next below has been de-energized. The closing of the valve for the lowermost passageway is dependent upon the opening of a timer actuated switch which is actuated by a timing mechanism 156. The switch 155 is in the circuit for the solenoid 137 between the switches 1411 and 151a and the line L2. Thus the de-energization of the solenoid 137 which closes the valve for the lowermost passageway, is dependent upon the opening of the timer switch 155. In order to interlock the circuits for the solenoids 1137, 138, 139 and 140, each circuit includes a switch which is closed by the energization of the holding relay in the actuating circuit for the passageway next below. For example, switch 157 is adapted to be closed when the relay 151 is energized and is in the line between the switch 142 and the solenoid 138. The switch 158 is closed by the energization of relay 152 and is in the line between the switch 143 and solenoid 139. The switch 159 is adapted to be closed in response to the energization of the holding relay 153 and is in the line between the switch 144 and the solenoid 140.

Thus when the circuit of FIGURE 12 is employed, the operator may set the timer .156 to any desired cooling time which may, for example, be on the order of two to four minutes. If the material receiving chambers are full, each of the thermally responsive switches 141, 14 2, 143 and 144 will be closed and each of the solenoids 137, 138, 139 and 140 will be energized, thus opening each of the valves leading to the passageways in the air outlet space. The holding relays are energized at the same time and maintain the energization of the operating solenoids irrespective of the opening or closing of the thermally responsive switches, as long as the timer switch 155 is closed. If, prior to the time that the timer switch 155 is open, one

of the thermally responsive switches should open, the

solenoids are nonetheless kept energized by virtue of the circuit established through the holding switches 151a, 152a, 153a and 154a. When the proper elapsed time has passed, the timer switch 155 opens and this breaks the circuit to the solenoid 137 and the holding relay 151. When the circuit to the holding relay 151 is broken, the switch 157 opens, thus de-energizing solenoid 138 and relay 152. De-energization of solenoid 152 results in opening of switch 158 and de-energization of solenoid 139 as well as the relay 153. Switch 159 is thereby opened with the consequent de-energization of solenoid 140 and the holding relay 154. The arrangement insures what is equivalent to simultaneous closing of the valves for the various passageways after the proper elapsed timing period has passed.

If the level of material in the chambers is only such as to close the lower switches 141 and 142, only the solenoids 137 and 1'38 are energized and the upper valves 131 and 132 remain closed during the cooling cycle.

It should be understood that while the structune shown and described herein uses air as a preferred cooling medium, the structure of the invention can be used with other cooling fluids such as gases. It should be understood rfurther that the pressure differential described with respect to the material receiving chambers and outlet space is such as to produce fluid flow in a direction from the exterior and into the outlet space, the structure may be used to cool material by fluid flow in the opposite didesired temperature.

7 rection. In this case the blower is employed to direct a forced stream of air intothe central space between the receiving chambers, through these chambers and then through the exterior walls of these chambers.

Whereas we have shown and described an operative form of our invention, it should be understood that this showing should be taken in an illustrative or diagrammatic sense only. There are modifications to the invention which will be apparent to those skilled in the art. The scope of the invention should be limited only by the scope of the hereinafter appended claims.

The use and operation of our invention is as follows:

We illustrate a cooling structure which is particularly advantageous for use in cooling granular material, such as coffee. The structure may be positioned closely adjacent to a coffee roaster in a fashion such that roasted cofl ee, when removed from the roaster, is deposited in the feed chute 13. As the material is deposited in the inlet 15, the screw conveyor 11 moves the material upwardly along an inclined path. The initial portion of the batch of material is deposited near the junction of the material guiding member with the base or bottom of the chambers 6 and 7. Successive portions of the material in the batch move upwardly along the guiding member 10 until they spill out into the chambers 6 and 7. Thus, a pile of material is built up in each chamber, the apex of the pile rising as the chamber fills. The angle of the conveyor axis approximates, or may be less than, the angle of repose of the material in the chambers to prevent back up of the material into the chambers. The leading edge of the growing pile in each chamber lies on the opposite side of the apex of the pile from the inclined conveyor as can be most readily appreciated from FIGURES 2 and 9.

During the material filling stage of the operation, the air space 8 is subjected to a suitable source of suction, through the duct 17, and air is drawn in through the pervious outer Walls 2 and 5 and through the mass of material in the chambers 6 and 7, to exhaust through the duct 17. :The source of suction will continue after the tull batch of material has been delivered to the chambers 6 and 7, and until the mass of material is cooled to the A cooling time of two to four minutes may be suflicient to rapidly lower the temperature of granular material such as coffee from something on the order of 300 or 400 degrees down to room temperature.

When the granular material has been cooled to the desired degree, the gates 33 and 34 are opened as by actuating the switch 49 and the material falls by gravity into the space beneath the chambers. The material may then be moved or conveyed to a further processing operation.

A particularly advantageous feature of the structure shown is the provision of narrow, extended chambers with relatively large air pervious side Walls. This form of air inlet structure provides an extremely efficient and rapid cooling for relatively large volumes of granular material. The air pervious area on each of the side walls 2 and 5 has a shape which takes advantage of the natural shape of the piles of granular material in the chambers 6 and 7, conforming generally to the angle of repose of the material. This insures that substantially all of the air drawn by the source of suction applied to the duct 17 will pass through the granular material in heat transferring relation.

The structure is also advantageously used in connection with relatively small batches of material as well as batches which are sufficiently large as to substantially fill the chambers 6 and 7. In the event that relatively small batches of material are to be cooled, one or more of the passageways 24, 25, 26 and 27 are closed olf from the source of suction and the duct 17, as by moving one or more of the butterfly valves to the closed position. For example, if the'piles of material in the chambers 6 and 7 approach only the level of the battle 20, the valve 29 will be closed, while the valves 30, 31 and 32 are open. Closing of the valve 23 prevents communication between the portion of the chmbers 6 and 7 above the bafile 2t! and the air outlet space above bafile 20. Thus, substantially all of the air pulled in through the pervious outer walls actually passes through the material in the chambers. If the level of material in the chambers 6 and 7 approaches the level of the baflle 21, both the valve 29 and the valve 30 will be closed, .while the valves 31 and 32 will be open. It the level of the material is at the level of baffie 23, each of the valves 29, 30, 31 and 32 will be closed, so that the sole communication between the duct 17 and the chambers is through the passageway 8. The number of valves may be varied. The division of the air outlet space into passageways, which are selectively opened and closed to the source of suction, in relation to the level of material or amount of the load in the chambers, insures that most of the air Withdrawn through the duct 17 has passed in heat transferring relation with the granular material in the chambers 6 and '7 before it is drawn through the exhaust duct 17.

The use of the exterior walls W and W are particular- 'ly advantageous in that such use permits the use of ducts 'is utilized during colder periods of the year, relatively cold air may be drawn in through the outer walls 2 and 5 of the material receiving chambers and into heat transferring relation with the material in the chambers. This results in a faster cooling time for the material in the chambers without utilizing air from any heated space.

It should be understood that under some circumstances it may not be desired to employ a source of exterior air. In this event the outer Walls W and W may be omitted, thus leaving the outer walls 2 and 5 of the chambers fully exposed to the ambient air about the assembly. Where in the specification or claims we employ the term fluid, it may be understood to mean air, either unmixed or mixed with other gases.

We claim:

1. In a cooling structure for granular material and the like, a pair of horizontally spaced vertically extending material receiving chambers formed by side walls, one side Wall in each chamber being disposed opposite a side wall in the other chamber, conveying means for delivering material to said chambers so as to form piles of material in each of said chambers, said chambers being sepa rated from one another by an air outlet space, means providing a path permitting air to be exhausted from said air outlet space, the opposed side walls of said chambers being air pervious through substantially the entire area thereof to thereby allow the inflow of exterior air to and through said chambers, and means for selectively varying the outlet area from said air outlet space in direct relation with the height of material in said chambers.

2. The structure of claim 1, wherein said outlet area varying means includes a plurality of bafiles vertically spaced in said air outlet space and closure means for selectively closing the spaces between bafiies to communication with said air withdrawing means.

3. In a cooling structure for granular material and the like, a base, and a screw conveyor extending upwardly from said base with its axis inclined to the vertical, a pair of material receiving chambers defined by walls upstanding from said base, said walls also defining an air outlet space between said chambers and underlying said conveyor, each of said chambers having air pervious outer and inner walls, a material guiding member overlying said space and underlying said conveyor, the lower end of said conveyor being in communication with an inlet for granular material whereby upon rotation of said conveyor said conveyor moves material upwardly for discharge over said guiding member throughout a substantial portion of its length and into said chambers the angle of inclination of the screw conveyor to the horizontal being on the order of the angle of repose of the material to be cooled, said screw conveyor being constructed and arranged to distribute conveyed material in layers onto a pile of material in said chambers, and means for withdrawing air through said space to thereby cause a flow of exterior air through said outer walls, inner walls and space and cause heat transfer from material in said chambers to the air so withdrawn.

4. In a cooling structure for granular material and the like, a base, and a screw conveyor extending upwardly from said base with its axis inclined to the horizontal on the order of the angle of repose of the material to be cooled, a pair of material receiving chambers defined by walls upstanding from said base, said walls also defining a space between said chambers and underlying said conveyor, a material guiding member overlying said space and underlying said conveyor, the lower end of said con veyor being in communication with a source of supply of granular material whereby upon rotation of said conveyor, said conveyor moves material upwardly for discharge over said guiding member throughout a substantial portion of its length and into said chambers.

5. In a cooling structure for granular material and the like, a base, and a screw conveyor extending upwardly from said base with its axis inclined to the vertical, a pair of material receiving chambers defined by inner pervious walls upstanding from said base, said inner walls also defining a space between said chambers and underlying said conveyor, a material guiding member overlying said space and underlying said conveyor, the lower end of said conveyor being in communication with an inlet for granular material whereby upon rotation of said conveyor, said conveyor moves material upwardly for discharge over said guiding member and into said chambers the angle of inclination of the screw conveyor to the horizontal being on the order of the angle of repose of the material to be cooled, said screw conveyor being constructed and arranged to distribute conveyed material in layers onto a pile of material in said chambers, each of said chambers having pervious outer walls, means providing a path permitting cooling fluid to be withdrawn from said space to thereby cause a flow of fluid through the outer walls, inner walls and space and transfer heat from material in said chambers to the fluid so withdrawn; and means for discharging material from each of said chambers.

6. The structure of claim wherein said last named means includes pivoted gates adapted to close the bottom of each of said chambers in one position thereof and to open the bottom of each of said chambers for gravitational discharge of material therefrom in another position thereof.

7. The structure of claim 5 wherein the side walls of each of said chambers are formed by screen mesh extending over polygonal areas whose sides are generally defined by the bottom of each of said chambers, said guiding member, a line inclined upwardly from the base and generally parallel to said guiding member, and a line extending from the upper portion of the conveyor to the top of said first mentioned line.

8. The structure of claim 5 wherein said side walls are formed of screen mesh.

9. In a cooling structure for granular material and the like, a base, and a screw conveyor extending upwardly from said base with its axis inclined to the vertical, a pair of material receiving chambers defining an air outlet space between said chambers and underlying said conveyor, a material guide member underlying said conveyor, the lower end of said conveyor being in communication with a hopper for granular material whereby upon rotation of said conveyor, said conveyor moves material upwardly for discharge over and into said chambers, each of said chambers having pervious inner and outer walls, a source of suction positioned exterior-1y to said air outlet space and in communication with said space to thereby cause a flow of air through the outer walls, inner walls, and air outlet space and transfer heat from material in said chambers to the air so withdrawn, means for closing off a selected upper portion of said space to communication with said source of suctoin, and means for discharging material from each of said chambers.

10. The structure of claim 9 characterized by and including conveying means associated with the lower portion of each of said chambers.

11. In a cooling structure for granular material, a base and a pair of upstanding perforate side walls defining a material receiving chamber, a third wall upstanding from said base and defining, with one of said perforate side walls, a second chamber, means providing a pressure differential between said chambers so as to allow fluid flow through said chambers, and means responsive to the height of the material in the material receiving chamber for varying the fluid flow area between said chambers while maintaining the height of such area in direct relation with the height of such material.

12. The structure of claim 11 wherein said second chamber includes a series of spaced battles to provide passageways in said second chamber, and said responsive means includes temperature responsive valves for closing said passageways to flow therethrough.

. 13. The structure of claim 11, wherein said responsive means include means for physically sensing the presence of solids.

14. The structure of claim 11, wherein the responsive means include a rotary member and means for rotating it, said rotary memberbeing formed and adapted to be stopped by the presence of contacting Solids.

15. The structure of claim 11 characterized by and including spaced baflles in said second chamber to define passageways in said chamber, said responsive means including a valve associated with each passageway for closing each passageway to fluid flow therethrough, each valve having an electromagnetic actuating mechanism, each mechanism including means responsive to the presence of material in the receiving chamber adjacent its associated passageway for energizing the mechanism to open the valve for that passageway.

16. In a cooling structure for granular material, a base and upstanding pervious side walls defining a material receiving chamber, means defining a plurality of spaced passageways adjacent one of said side walls and means providing a pressure differential between said chamber and said passageways so as to allow gaseous flow between said chamber and said passageways, an electrically ac tuated valve associated with each passageway for opening each passageway to gaseous flow therethrough, each valve having an operating circuit, which includes sensing means associated with the chamber efiective to generate a valve actuating signal in response to the presence of material adjacent the passageway associated with the valve, timing means in the circuit for the valve for the lowermost passageway and adapted to break the circuit for that valve after a predetermined lapse of cooling time and close the valve, and means for opening the circuits for the other valves in response to opening of the circuit for the valve in the lowermost passageway.

17. The structure of claim 16 wherein each circuit includes a switch adapted to be closed in response to the attainment of a predetermined temperature adjacent its associated valve and passageway, and a relay operative after closing of said switch, each relay for the valves below the uppermost valve being effective, when energized, to close a switch in the circuit -for the valve and passageway next above and maintain the circuit for the valve and passageway next above irrespective of opening of the first named switch after initial closure thereof.

18. In a structure for cooling granular materials and the like, a pair of generally parallel vertically disposed chamber side walls, said walls being air pervious throughout substantially their entire area, each of the opposed facing surfaces of the walls being substantially planar, said walls being impervious to passage of the granular material to be cooled therethrough and being spaced apart: a distance substantially less than any major side wall. dimension, edge walls bounding the side walls along the bottom and a substantial distance about the periphery of the side walls to thereby form a chamber for receiving". a thin, generally vertical mass of granular materials to becooled, a conveyor inclined at the same or a lesser angle than the angle of repose of the material to be cooled extending along a portion of the unbounded edge of the side walls and adapted to continuously discharge hot: granular materials into the chamber from the apex of the pile, the leading edge of the pile lying on the opposite side of the apex of the pile from the conveyor, other wall means defining, with the exterior surface of one of the chamber side walls, an air space, air outlet means for said air space, means for creating a cooling fluid pressure difierential across the granular cooling chamber "and means for controllably varying the air space in direct relation with the size of the pile of material in the chamber between predetermined maximum and minimum heights whereby a cooling fluid may be passed generally transversely through the chamber throughout substantially the entire granular material contacting area of the chamber side walls, into the air space, and to discharge through the air outlet means.

19. In a cooling structure for granular material and the like, a base, and at least one material receiving chamber defined, in part, by at least two generally vertically extending side walls on said base, the two said side walls of said chamber being pervious to air whereby air may be drawn through one side wall and into and through said chamber and out the other side wall, a material delivery conveyor mounted on said base and extending upwardly from said base at an angle generally on the order of the angle of repose of a mass of granular material in said chamber, said conveyor, throughout a substantial portion of its length, being disposed in discharging relationship over only a portion of the material in the chamber, and means for delivering material to the lower end of said conveyor, whereby said conveyor moves material upwardly along a' path on the order of said angle of repose and discharges said material into the chamber.

20. In a cooling structure for use with granular mater rail and the like, a pair of upstanding walls defining a material receiving chamber, conveying means :for delivering material to said chamber so as to form a pile of material in said chamber, structure defining an air outlet space formed adjacent one side of said chamber, said air outlet space having an outlet area, the side walls of said chamber being pervious through substantially the entire area thereof to thereby allow the inflow of air to and through the chamber, and means for selectively varying the outlet area from said air outlet space in direct relation with the height of material in said chamber, said means including spaced bafiies in said air outlet space adjacent the side wall of said chamber adjoining said air outlet space, air withdrawing means and valves positioned in said outlet area between said air outlet space and air Withdrawing means, each valve being individually adjustable to close off a space between battles.

21. In a structure for cooling varying sized batches of granular materials and the like, a material receiving cooling chamber having a bottom formed and adapted to support, in a position of rest, a substantial body of the particles to be cooled, said chamber having generally parallel, generally upright air pervious side walls separated by a distance substantially less than the length and width of said walls, whereby a space is provided in said cooling chamber for a relatively thin, generally vertical mass of particles to be cooled, a conveyor extending along an upper edge of the cooling chamber defined between said upright walls, means for delivering particles to be cooled to one end of said conveyor, means actuating said conveyor and for thereby conveying the material above the space between said air pervious walls, said conveyor being angled upwardly at an angle approximating the angle of repose of the material to be cooled to discharge the particles substantially throughout its path, thereby to fill first the parts of the cooling chamber nearest the particle receiving end of the conveyor to thereby form a pile in the cooling chamber, the leading edge of the pile lying on the opposite side of the apex of the pile from the conveyor, other wall means defining with one of said air pervious walls an air space, an air outlet for said air space whereby air passing through said upstanding air pervious walls is removed, and means for controllably varying the size of the air outlet in direct relation with the size of the pile of material in the chamber between predetermined maximum and minimum heights, to thereby insure passage of air through the pile irrespective of the size of the pile.

22. The structure of claim 21 characterized in that said conveyor extends upwardly along an upper edge of the cooling chamber at an angle of the order of the angle of repose of the particles to be cooled.

23. The structure of claim 21 characterized by and including means for removing the cooled particles in the cooling chamber after they have been cooled.

24. The structure of claim 21 characterized in that the means for controllably varying the size of the air outlet includes a plurality of bafides located solely in the air space and formed and positioned to define air passages thereabove in communication with the air pervious walls of the cooling chamber, and valve means for selectively closing said passages.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 245,274 Byerley Aug. 9, 1881 759,527 Irwin May 10, 1904 983,198 Applegate Jan. 31, 1911 984,931 Kent Feb. 21, 1911 1,286,496 Barbieri Dec. 3, 1918 1,482,812 Roberts Feb. 5, 1924 2,305,078 Har-ford Dec. 15, 1942 2,336,378 Uhlig Dec, 7, 1943 2,437,395 Magnusson et al Mar. 9, 1948 2,634,673 Maho Apr. 14, 1953 2,655,734 Ohlheiser Oct. 20, 1953 2,704,869 Meakin Mar. 29, 1955 2,783,545 Booth Mar. 5, 1957 2,799,097 Williams et al. July 16, 1957 2,858,620 Naylor Nov. 4, 1958 

21. IN A STRUCTURE FOR COOLING VARYING SIZED BATCHES OF GRANULAR MATERIALS AND THE LIKE, A MATERIAL RECEIVING COOLING CHAMBER HAVING A BOTTOM FORMED AND ADAPTED TO SUPPORT, IN A POSITION OF REST, A SUBSTANTIAL BODY OF THE PARTICLES TO BE COOLED, SAID CHAMBER HAVING GENERALLY PARALLEL, GENERALLY UPRIGHT AIR PERVIOUS SIDE WALLS SEPARATED BY A DISTANCE SUBSTANTIALLY LESS THAN THE LENGTH AND WIDTH OF SAID WALLS, WHEREBY A SPACE IS PROVIDED IN SAID COOLING CHAMBER FOR A RELATIVELY THIN, GENERALLY VERTICAL MASS OF PARTICLES TO BE COOLED, A CONVEYOR EXTENDING ALONG AN UPPER EDGE OF THE COOLING CHAMBER DEFINED BETWEEN SAID UPRIGHT WALLS, MEANS FOR DELIVERING PARTICLES TO BE COOLED TO ONE END OF SAID CONVEYOR, MEANS ACTUATING SAID CONVEYOR AND FOR THEREBY CONVEYING THE MATERIAL ABOVE THE SPACE BETWEEN SAID AIR PERVIOUS WALLS, SAID CONVEYOR BEING ANGLED UPWARDLY AT AN ANGLE APPROXIMATING THE ANGLE OF REPOSE OF THE MATERIAL TO BE COOLED TO DISCHARGE THE PARTICLES SUBSTANTIALLY THROUGHOUT ITS PATH, THEREBY TO FILL FIRST THE PARTS OF THE COOLING CHAMBER NEAREST THE PARTICLE RE- 